Rating: 
Summary: Exquisite biography, superb history
Review: With this magnificent book, author H. W. Brands has rescued ol' Ben Franklin from the dustbin of historical caricature. The statesman, printer, scientist, inventor, author, diplomat, raconteur, and ladies' man emerges in these pages as living flesh and blood. No more are we left with Franklin, the relentlessly glib and clever bon vivant (though he was certainly that -- among other things). In H. W. Brands's skilled hands you get a real sense of his motivation as a person, his passions, his jealousies. Consider the opening scene, in the Prologue. Here Brands shows us Franklin, bracing himself for cross-examination in the British court, the Privy Council, in connection with the revolutionary goings-on in Massachusetts. The dramatic scene Brands sets up isn't just for entertainment, however. As he presents Franklin enduring eviscerating ridicule at the hands of the British royal solicitor, Wedderburn, Brands makes the case that Franklin finally discovered his American-ness right then and there, and history was never the same as a result. If that's how the Brits want to treat the generous and fair Benjamin Franklin, Franklin must have thought, let them live with the consequences. From this gripping beginning, with its strong sense of motivation and narrative momentum, Brands takes us on a tour of early colonial New England, to Franklin's early life, his family life, and his role in establishing the Republic and steering its fate through the difficult shoals of international diplomacy. It would not be surprising if this book gets its due when the Pulitzer Prizes are nominated and voted upon. Kudos to Professor Brands. Few academics are such natural-born storytellers.
Rating:
Summary: History Comes Alive
Review: Although a 700+ page biography of a man dead 200 years sounds daunting, in this case nothing could be further from the truth. Franklin's story is an amazing one, which the author tells in a style both fast and entertaining. He never goes into more detail than the casual reader (me) would like, but gives just enough historical perspective and philosophical framework to place Franklin in his time. Franklin's life was so full and far-ranging that it couldn't be covered in less than 700 well-manicured pages. I found it compulsively readable, despite the size. Truly he lived in "interesting times" and showed himself to be a man equal to every challenge he faced -- and quite a few left to future generations. The true measure of a biography may be in getting the reader to CARE about the subject, and in this Brands succeeds unconditionally. Even from the distance of 200 years Franklin's inevitable passing hit me hard, moving me to tears of sorrow. THAT is good writing.
Rating:
Summary: Outstanding Historical Biography
Review: With a series of well researched and well written books, Texas A&M History Professor H.W. Brands has placed himself in such heady company as David McCullough as one of the preeminent history authors working today. Brand's biography of Benjamin Franklin is a lively, witty and very informative look at the senior statesman among America's Founding Fathers. Helped by Franklin's engaging personailty and prolifc writings, Brands brings him to life for modern readers. "The First American" provides a sweeping overview of Franklin's life, from his Boston upbringing to his early audulthood as a Philadelphia printer to his later years when his stature as a philosopher, scientist, politician and diplomat made him world famous. Electricity, the Gulf Stream, the modern fire department, the lightening rod and bifocals are among the many deicoveries or inventions he either initiated or was key in developing. And oh by the way, Franklin was also the prime negotiator of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and played host to the Constitutional Convention in 1787. On the whole, not a bad set of lifetime accomplishments. Brands' account of Franklin's life is must reading for anyone with an interest in American History. The author has that rare gift that combines storytelling ability with scholarship. If more history professors could write (and lecture) this well, the subject would be all the more popular for it.
Rating: 
Summary: very good and underrated
Review: I thought this was a very good book. It is the only Franklin biography able to combine comprehensiveness with readability. Morgan and Isaacson present two different stories about Franklin; this one almost combines the two approaches.
If you have time to read only *one* Franklin biography, I would read this one.
Rating:
Summary: History Comes Alive
Review: H.W. Brands must have been a doozy back at school. Once given an assignment for a research paper I can see Brands asking "Can I do twice as many references as required?" I'm poking fun a little to make the point that this is a scholarly and well-researched portrait of Franklin. Brands doesn't seem to make any points that are not backed up by some written reference, and any time there is speculation Brands' language makes it clear that this is a thought extrapolated from available knowledge. I almost wanted to give the work 4 rather than 5 stars because my initial response was that although the book was good, I also thought that if there's anything this book needs, it's a little pruning. This biography is so exhaustively complete that there is little time to pause. ALL of the information is presented, and it got a little mentally tiring separating the wheat from the chaff. (Does this make me like the Emperor who informs Mozart his new opera has "too many notes"?) From the language of this book Mr. Franklin's early work in the printing business in Philadelphia comes across with as much force as his later participation in the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Brands gives us a good feel for Benjamin Franklin's standing in the world community - not only in Philadelphia and America, but also in Europe and around the world. We also get a little of a taste for Franklin's indulgences in woman and for the periods in his life when he was reluctant to assume the role of "family man". At the end when the great citizen Dr. Franklin passed away James Madison passed the news to the new congress and suggested that a National Period of Mourning be observed - a measure that must have been one of the first official acts of Congress to pass immediately and unanimously. The word quickly spread to France where their assembly also unanimously voted to immediately don black to mourn The First American. Among Biographies, in particular of our Founding Fathers, this one stands up well, and should for as long as people care to read about the amazing Benjamin Franklin.
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating story
Review: I thought I knew a lot about Benjamin Franklin before reading this book. However, I'm amazed by the thoroughness of this book. It provided an extremely interesting perspective on one of the key figures of the infancy of this great country. Thank you, H.W., for an excellent work.
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